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Lead Generation Lessons The Silver Linings Playbook: Playing With The Giants

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Conducting a lead generation campaign in a market can be a very daunting task, especially if there is bigger competition running around you. While it is true that smaller firms can be swallowed by the momentum of larger companies, it is also possible for them to actually stay and generate qualified sales leads. The secret here lies in your uniqueness. You need to have this unique quality in you that will help you stand out against others. Even if you cannot compete against the bigger players in the market, at least you can create a special spot, a niche, in which you can easily gather qualified B2B leads.

That was how Jackie Weaver, who starred as the wife of Robert De Niro’s character, got nominated for the Oscars. Just imagine how easy it was to get overshadowed by someone of De Niro’s caliber. Still, she played ball, and she got noticed.

You can also think of it this way: there will always be others who are better than you. There will be better business presenters than you, better appointment setting representatives, better telemarketing teams, and the like. Your products might even be displayed right beside the best-sellers of your bigger competitors. But that should not be your deterrent. Indeed, this is a good opportunity for you to shine. Study more about your business, know more about what you offer, and understand what exactly makes you unique from the others. This is your strongest point. And this is where you will make your counter-attack against the others.

Other businesses have done that already. And you can do that, too. The important point to remember here is that you focus on your strengths. Tap into the market that will most appreciate your strengths, and your lead generation campaign will succeed.

Why Is Telecommuting Bad For Lead Generation?

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Right at the heels of Yahoo CEO’s Marissa Mayer’s announcement that there will be no more telecommunicating for its employees, there have been howls of disapproval from many quarters. They say that telecommunicating is an important part of their operations, and it should not be taken lightly. For those in the lead generation business, working outside the office is key to increased productivity in B2B leads. Still, there are reasons why telecommunicating can be a bad idea. Among these are:

  1. Less opportunities to collaborate – believe it or not, it can be fairly impossible to get new ideas from your colleagues when you just talk through a computer screen. Man is a social animal, never forget, this is practically an area that you must remember well. Such social interactions require a face-to-face meeting.
  2. Knowing the company’s direction can be difficult – despite advancements in technology and imaging, webinars and conference calls can only do so much. If you want to fully immerse your B2B telemarketing team regarding your company’s direction, you had better arrange for them to report to your office regularly.
  3. Company culture could be lost – a company culture is the result of interactions between people in a specific area. When you telecommute or work from home, the interactions that could create a positive culture will no longer be there.
  4. Poor performers will be undetected – this is easy, despite the advancement of monitoring software. Nothing beats actually breathing down the necks of your employees, making sure they actually generate sales leads.

So, what do you think? Is telecommuting really bad for lead generation?

Secret In Innovative Lead Generation – The Inclusivity

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Too often, people fall victim to the notion that innovations in lead generation must come out of a closed room, from only a small number of people. Well, that would be a warranted mistake if they think of the likes of Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, etc. but those people belong to the surprising minority.  If you want to have real innovation in generating B2B leads, you just need to open your doors and let others enter the picture. Believe it or not, the people around you might be the best source of innovative ideas in finding more sales leads.

Remember, true innovation does not come from one man alone, nor does it require the input of only a few managers. Think of how Samsung got into the top in smartphone sales. They did not have that extensive innovation team to come up with revolutionary designs. What they did is analyze customer buying behavior. They studied which phone designs and software fit the tastes of the market. From there, they came up with newer and better designs (in the fastest way possible) to capitalize on those customer tastes. You can do that, too. You can try having a telemarketing survey to figure out what you need to meet your customer needs.

Letting others have a say in what you do is not a bad idea at all. In fact, it can be a liberating experience for you. It can give you fresher idea on how to go about your appointment setting campaign or some new product or service in the future.

When Not To Solve Problems During Lead Generation

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a confident businessman

Solving problems is only natural when we are conducting lead generation campaigns. After all, if we do not solve problems, how can we turn prospects into qualified B2B leads? That is why we need to offer the right business solutions to your prospects. There are a lot of things you would want to say to your prospects, offer answer to their problems. But have you ever thought of those rare moment where you do not need to solve problems? Sometimes, not solving a business issue can get you the sales leads you wanted. The idea behind it is actually sound.

To begin with, you must first understand that some of your prospects may be aware of their problems already. They might just want to have a sounding board, or probably a second opinion on whether this is their real concern. Also, it is possible that they know the solution already. Your telemarketing team may not need to talk much. Your team will just have to listen, and the answer will present itself on its own. And would it not be a much better appointment setting tactic. At least you will get the full cooperation of your business leads. All you need to do is to be sharp at the details.

While it is possible that you have a lead generation team ready for the task, it may not be economically feasible to have a large one for a seasonal campaign. Perhaps outsourcing the work will do you good. There are a lot of telemarketing, advertising, and other agencies that can do the job for you.

Improve Sales Through Lead Generation

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Your office phone isn’t ringing as much as it used to, but that doesn’t mean that your company needs to start closing its doors. You (or your salespeople) just need to get back to prospecting and lead generation.

Getting your business and services out there to the public is more important now than ever. Thanks to the recession, people are more careful about where and when they spend their money. Waiting for your target customers to turn themselves into leads is a noble effort, but it’s largely a waste of your time.  It’s your job to let them know what you offer, because they’ll never know otherwise if they need it or not.

By prospecting for potential sales leads yourself, you have a better control of the pace of your sales process. It’s not the most enjoyable part of being in business, but it’s definitely the most crucial. There are plenty of methods you can use to help with your prospecting. You could start sending more emails, if you haven’t already. Look into joining trade shows, and even television advertising if you can afford it. If you feel like doing it the cheap and old-fashioned way, you can always grab the nearest phone book or search on Google. You can even hire professional telemarketers to do the cold-calling for you, or you might opt to go straight to a reliable telemarketing company for your telemarketing needs. All these methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but the important thing is you get your products and services noticed by the right people.

How Can Telemarketing Help Social Media Marketing?

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a smartphone with social media concept on screen

The marketing landscape is constantly changing. What may seem to be a sure-fire marketing tactic may not be an appropriate method today. And the lead generation tools we scoff at in the past may be the latest aid we need for the modern market. Such is the case with social media. Nowadays, companies and marketers are touting this mediums ability to generate sales leads, as well as engage customers in meaningful conversations. But is that enough? Will social media be the answer all marketers are looking for? Can it replace the other marketing tools that are currently used today? Or will it be a marketing fad that will fade in time? There are just too many questions that has to be answered.

We must first understand what social media is all about. Social media is a marketing strategy that uses social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. The aim here is to increase the online presence of the company, encouraging more customer engagement and conversation. While this is very effective in increasing the awareness of the market, it is just that – increasing market awareness. Social media, for all the things it can do and achieve, is still not that effective in generating qualified B2B leads. Remember the Pepsi Refresh campaign? It is a major advertising campaign used by the company to hype up its social responsibility and presence to the market., and look at what it got the company into. From being second to Coke, Pepsi slid down to the third spot. What made it more painful was the new second place: Diet Coke. Considering the millions spent on this social marketing campaign, you can tell that this was a real sales disaster. This is certainly something that you do not wish to happen.

In order for social media marketing to effectively generate more sales leads, you need another marketing tool to assist. It can come in many forms, but it seems like the best methods are the most disruptive in nature. In other words, these are marketing methods that actively and aggressively get in touch with prospects and help you with the task. Among the most preferred methods employed would be telemarketing. Yes, you would probably be complaining that this is an old (if not a negative) means of engaging prospects to buy or sign up to our offer. But in terms of effectiveness, when paired with social media marketing, you will see better results in terms of appointment setting success.

What does it tell you about social media and lead generation? For one, it tells you that social media, as a marketing tactic, cannot bring sales leads on its own. You can spend a lot of money in your social media campaign, but just like the case with Pepsi, it might not be a bright idea. In order for it to be effective, you need to combine it with other marketing tools, like professional telemarketing services. Whether done in-house or through outsourcing, it will give you the right results.

Make Your Lead Generation Campaign Flu-Free

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This is the time of the year that would most certainly bring worries for many business owners (correction, worries for everyone). It is inevitable, and everyone is needed to handle it – the flu season. And this can have a negative impact on your lead generation campaign. If the situation becomes worst (where key appointment setting personnel becomes absent due to sickness), then you really will have a hard time to generate the needed sales leads in your campaign. You will need a contingency plan in place. Considering the various methods that you need can employ, which ones are the most important? You will find these below:

  1. Plan specific employee roles – to prepare your company during the flu season, you need to come up with a plan that includes the specific roles of each employee. Study your critical operations (like those in telemarketing), find out the people necessary in those parts, and discuss with them what plans to make in the event some calls in sick.
  2. Conduct a flu awareness campaign – nothing beats an aggressive information drive. Not that your employees are anywhere dense in head, but a little reminder about sneezing and cough etiquette can go a long way in preventing the spread of flu in your workplace. This is also a good time to inform everyone about medical services and, if available, flu vaccination to prevent flu infection.
  3. Invest in more technology – the nice thing about technology in the work place is how it can contribute to overall B2B leads productivity of everyone (without the requisite close physical contact with each other). If this is possible in your office, have your employees work from their homes. Working remotely from their homes is also a contingency plan that extends beyond that of the flu season. It can provide you and your people added flexibility on how they go about their work. Just make sure that you have the equipment for this arrangement.
  4. Test your systems – this is related to point number three. You need to ensure that the communication and work tools installed in your employees’ homes are in good working condition. Conduct a test run of your system and see if there are any bugs that you need to take care of. Try picking a date, and then send at least a quarter of your employees home to use the system. See if they connect with your production floor.

Of course, this arrangement will work perfectly for companies that does not handle that much sensitive data. This is a different story if you handle data processing and retrieval tasks. In cases like these, you really have to keep your personnel reporting to the office. Still, as long as you keep everything clean (and remind your people to wash their hands after using the washroom), then you can still prevent the spread of the flu. It may border on the obsessive, but a little cautiousness can be a great help in maintaining the health of your company. In this way, your lead generation campaign can be flu-free.

Telemarketing Troubles? This Is How You Solve It

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an asian telemarketer

Yes, there will be times (it will not be surprising how often it might be) that you get a bad day when generating sales leads. You  may get a lot of rejections, curses, fails, losses, in a single day. But that is all right. Everyone gets that once in a while. And it can have a negative impact on your lead generation productivity. Now that is something no one would want to get in the long run. You will need to solve that, and to solve that fast. So here is how you do it:

  1. For bad calls – instead of taking a break after a particularly nasty call, why not take a deep breath and go straight to the next appointment setting call. Believe it or not, you will forget about that bad call, allowing you to concentrate better in your current calls.
  2. Telemarketing is an art – yes, there are graphs and numbers that you should consider, but when the going gets tough, generating B2B leads is dependent on your communication skills. And mind you, communicating is an art that you have to master.
  3. Remember that no one is perfect – everyone makes a mistake. What matters is how you handle it, how you rise up to the challenge (or maybe save your skin). Sharing your experiences with others might help, as well as learning from others.

Keep these tips in mind, and you will be able to handle your telemarketing troubles. It is that simple, you know.

Should You Outsource Your Lead Generation Campaign?

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Face it, you just cannot do everything on your own. There is a limit to what the human body can take. Besides, no one has ever succeeded (physically) in being at two places at the same time. It is the same thing with lead generation. And in terms of skills, you just cannot be knowledgeable it all aspects of your business. You might be good at customer service, but a little stumped when generating sales leads. A little help might be in order, like outsourcing to a professional marketing agency. Inside sales can be a bit complicated, so some expert assistance will be needed. But how will that help your business?

  1. You can focus your efforts better in other tasks – as the old saying goes, ‘leave it to the experts’. Sure, you may have this winning idea that will get you the most customers in the market, but if you lack the skills or the knowledge to pull this off, then you are not going anywhere. And if you do have people knowledgeable in inside sales, they may not be sufficient to handle the amount of work that needs to be done. in this case, outside help from an agency that has the people and the resources for the job might be needed after all.
  2. You can reduce your general overhead cost – in the financial portion of your campaign, you need to reduce the overall cost in reaching appointment setting goals. Think about it, getting an in-house team to do the job for you can become an additional burden in your budget. Consider this: if you stick to your own team, would they have the capacity to get the required work done? Will they still be able to function well with their current equipment? If they need more help, would buying extra tools or hiring assistants be less expensive than seeking help from professionals? These are just some questions that you have to answer.
  3. You now have a one-stop shop of sorts in lead generation – the problem with an in-house team of marketers is that you are stuck with finding the right people, equipment, and software tools to aid in your campaign. It can be frustrating, or probably costly, to do this, since there is not one place where you can get them all. Unless you outsource to a professional marketing agency. More likely than not, they have everything you will need for your inside sales campaign. All you need to do is to choose the right agency to work with.
  4. You get an outsider’s perspective of your needs – while bringing in strangers in your company (people who are unfamiliar with your culture and environment) can be an unnerving experience, it can also be a god-send for those who want to see things in a different light.

Of course, you do not have to take a consultant’s advice at face-value, but the ideas and details that you will learn can be used to improve your lead generation campaign.

Six Hiring Mistakes That Ruin Lead Generation

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A scenario of a job online interview

There are hiring mistakes, and there are hiring mistakes. In terms of its effect in your lead generation campaign, it can mean a big thing. Generating B2B leads is no simple feat, and as a business owner or manager, you may not be able to handle the job on your own. It becomes a necessity for you to hire someone for the job. And that is where the problem comes in. What will happen if you hired the wrong people for the job? That would certainly be an inside sales disaster. And the causes of that are so obvious that you might berate yourself for not realizing it sooner.

  1. You ignore the totality of your candidates – sure, you need skilled people for the job. The problem here is when you only concentrate on the skills, not on the whole picture. There are some employees who work best at night, or maybe have diva tendencies. If you really are in need of their appointment setting skills, then be ready to compromise.
  2. You fail to consider their attitudes – being skilled in generating sales leads is a great factor in hiring candidates, but if they do not have enthusiasm, good work ethics, or interpersonal skills, then they might become a liability. These can be more important traits for employees.
  3. You sell your business too much – yes, you need your employees to work for you, but do not sell yourself too much. Candidates usually have done their homework; they know whether your company is a good fit for them or not. Also, selling too hard skewers the perspective in work. The viewpoint of an employee who is grateful for the job is way different from an employee who took the job only as a favor to you.
  4. You quickly hire friends or family (or both) – while family or friends may have the heart and intentions to help you, their skills might something that falls short on your expectations. Additionally, hiring family or friends create friction in your production floor, between you and non-related employees. This can have a negative impact on your lead generation campaign.
  5. Ignoring your gut feelings – while looking at things objectively is ideal, with numbers and graphs, trusting your gut feeling can also save you from a major hiring mistake. That resume may seem rosy enough, but if you have a gut feeling that something is not right, then you should listen to that as well.
  6. You make the wrong gamble – well, a gamble is a gamble, where you are most likely to fail. But you can take a positive gamble on a candidate who might help your business grow, or a negative one where the candidate wrecks your entire inside sales campaign. Know everything you need to know first, then make an intelligent choice.

It is very easy to fall into these six hiring mistakes. But now that you know what these are, it would be a simple matter for you to avoid them all together. It will be good for your lead generation process.

Four Things That Demotivate Your Inside Sales Team

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As mentioned in my previous post, the most important assets that you need in your inside sales campaign would be the people tasked to do it. I mean, it would not be possible to generate B2B leads if there is no one manning the front liners, getting in touch with business prospects and trying to set an appointment between them and you. It is very important to know what you can do to motivate your lead generation team. But also equally important to know would be the factors that can kill morale. Avoid these, at all cost, and you will save yourself from the headaches that can pop up down the road.

  1. Using salary as the main motivator – okay, people want to earn something in their work, that is fact. But using salary as the sole motivator to keep your lead generation team working will not really work in the long run. Sure, money might be the reason someone leaves you, but that is not the reason why they will stay. If you want true motivators, then you should invest in other factors, like ownership, responsibility, and the environment.
  2. Multitasking when talking to your people – sure, you may be a busy person, but that should not be an excuse for you to answer the phone , sign papers, write reports, stare at your laptop, among other things, when you have a meeting with your appointment setting team. That is a sure fire way to reduce the importance of your team in their eyes. Failure to give your full attention will make the team feel second-rate and less motivated to work for you.
  3. Delivering mixed messages – it is one thing to adjust your delivery style depending on the audience, but tweaking the very content of your messages will only create confusion in your team. And confusions tend to build doubt and distrust in the hearts of men. That is the last thing you would want your people to think, lest it affect your ability to generate sales leads. A mark of a good manager is being able to craft a consistent message to all the intended recipients.
  4. Shooting down ideas immediately – creativity is an important part of business, and you need to nurture that in every person you have. And that consists of not shooting down the ideas of your team all the time. True, some of them may have lame plans or something, but that is no reason to criticize them or anything. Try to look at the details, you might be surprised at what you might learn. Some of the craziest ideas may actually be the very answers you need.

There are plenty of other things that you should avoid doing, but you can be assured that these four are the main culprits. If you want to succeed in your lead generation campaign, you need to find out how to best motivate your team. It can make all the difference between successfully generating B2B leads or not.

 

How To Get Past Gatekeepers In Lead Generation

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As you go about your usual lead generation campaign, you will be faced with the inevitable gatekeepers. Yes, they are the people tasked in blocking your way. And they do that for a good reason. Their bosses (the ones we want to talk to) are very busy people. Often, they do not have the time to entertain calls from  a myriad of marketers that come during the day. Gatekeepers are put in place in order to filter out the ‘unwanted’ calls, only allowing those with value or substance through. That can be problematic for your inside sales campaign, but there you go. You have to accept the fact that gatekeepers are here to stay.

The good news here is that there is a way to deal with them. Actually, ‘deal’ with them can come across as too strong a term. Perhaps a better one would be to ‘work’ with them. Since gatekeepers are there to block calls or promotions deemed of lesser value, the solution here is to show them that your business has a higher value. That is the secret of successful appointment setting representatives. You do not have to wage a war of sorts against gatekeepers in order to generate sales leads. The trick here is to get them to work for you. Not only will this be beneficial for both parties, it is a set-up that has less headaches and stress.

So, how should you do it?

To start with, you should be polite. True, some gatekeepers can be blunt or rude, but that should not give you the reason to act the same. Usually, if you maintain good manners, they will soften up and let you have your say. All the better for your inside sales work.

Second, understand where they are in the company structure. Be they the receptionist, personal assistant, or perhaps a low-level manager tasked at screening calls, you should know that they are just doing their job. So do not make it hard for them. Ask them to pass a message or perhaps set a later appointment. Give them some flexibility and they will better accommodate you.

Third, always remember to work with them. Ask them when you can call back, if your target decision maker is not around. You can also ask them other details, like the preferred way their boss wants to be contacted or what information they look for. You might be surprised about how much they know.

Fourth, nothing beats a freebie or a gift. You can give them some discount coupons, or maybe a promo they can take advantage of. Not only will this help you become memorable, the gatekeeper will think kindly of you when you do make that marketing call.

And lastly, be personal. No one likes to talk to script. It destroys the entire purpose of the lead generation campaign.

Well, while these tips are sure to help your inside sales campaign, you might find others that will work better with your business. Just try them all, and stick to the ones that work.